Is Jesus
God?
by:
Herbert W. Armstrong
STARTLING
as it may seem, there is great confusion today among
religious leaders concerning the true nature and office of
Jesus Christ - the Saviour of the world. You need not be in
doubt! The Bible was divinely inspired to impart TRUTH to
those who seek it with honest hearts and minds. "
What is
the real answer? Is Jesus God? Is He the same as Jehovah? Is
there more than one God? Here you will find God's answer -
from His own Word - as revealed in your Bible.
Is
Jesus God?
Jesus
Christ came to pay the penalty for sin in our stead. He gave
of Himself, that: we might be reconciled to God. How was
this made possible?
First, if
Jesus had been only human, His death could have paid the
penalty for but one other human who had incurred that
penalty by transgression of God's spiritual Law (Romans
6:23). Since God the Father created all things by Jesus
Christ (Eph. 3:9), and since all things, including man, were
made by Jesus Christ, He is our Maker and therefore God, and
His life which He gave was of greater value than the sum
total of all human beings. For we read, "In the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was
God. The same was in the beginning with God; all things were
made by him, and without him was not anything made that was
made" (John 1:1-3). "And the Word became flesh and dwelt
among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory,
glory as of the only Son from the Father" (verse 14 -RSV).
Also, "He was in the world, and the world was made through
him, yet the world knew him not" (verse 10 -RSV). Compare
these scriptures with I Cor. 8:6 and Col. 1:12-19.
Life
alone can beget life. This is the absolute law of
biogenesis. Since Eternal life is the GIFT of God (John
3:16), only a GOD possessing immortality could give it. If
Jesus were only human, we could not receive eternal life
through Him and He could not be our Savior. Man does not
have eternal life inherent in himself. But, as God "the
Father hath life in himself, so hath He given to the Son to
have life in Himself." And, "God hath given to us eternal
life, and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath
life; and he that hath not the Son hath not life" (John 5:26
and I John 5:11-12).
He Was
Also Human
On the
other hand, Jesus was also human. Since it is human life
which has transgressed God's Law, the Law claims human life
as its penalty. Contrary to popular present-day teaching,
the Word of God states that the wages the penalty - of sin,
is DEATH - not eternal life in a so-called "hell fire"
(Romans 6:23). When we sin, we break God's perfect spiritual
law, "for sin is the transgression of the law" (I John 3
:4). The penalty for this sin is death. The penalty must be
paid. God the Father will not compromise. It must be paid by
man. Therefore, Jesus, who is and was God, who has always
existed (John 1:1, 2), was actually made flesh (verse 14).
He, who was God, actually became human flesh because I John
4:2, 3 -RSV - states, "By this you know the Spirit of God:
every spirit which confesses that Jesus Christ has come iii
the flesh is of God, and every spirit which does not confess
Jesus is not of God." He was conceived in and born of the
human virgin, Mary. "Now, the birth of Jesus Christ took
place in this way. When his mother, Mary, had been betrothed
to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be
with child of the Holy Spirit" (Matt. 1:18). He was made not
only flesh, but human flesh and blood. Notice Heb. 2:14:
"Since then the children are sharers in blood and flesh,
himself also in like manner partook of the same" (Ivan
Panin translation).
Jesus
called Himself the Son of MAN repeatedly, and also the Son
of God. Matthew wrote, "Now when Jesus came into the
district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, 'Who
do men say that the Son of man is?' And they said, 'Some say
John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or
one of the prophets.' He said to them, 'But who do you say
that I am?' Simon Peter replied, 'You are the Christ, the
Son of the living God.' And Jesus answered him 'Blessed are
you, Simon Bar Jonah For flesh and blood has not revealed
this to you, but my Father who is in heaven'" (Matt.
16:13-17).
Jesus, in
nature, is equal with God -"Jesus Christ: who, existing in
God's form, counted not the being on an equality with God
ought to be grasped at, but emptied himself . . . being made
in likeness of men" (Phil. 2:6
Panin translation)
He is
called God in Titus 2:10, 13. Therefore He is God. The Bible
contains so much on these points that the above is a mere
fragment of the evidence.
Yes,
Jesus is also "Jehovah," although this word is a
mistranslation used in the American Standard Version. The
original name, in the Hebrew, contained the consonants
"YHVH." In writing in Hebrew, vowels were omitted, supplied
only in speaking. Thus the precise pronunciation of the name
is not definitely known, but today it is commonly assumed to
be Yahveh, or Yahweh. The meaning, in English, is "THE
ETERNAL," or "THE EVERLIVING," or the "SELF-EXISTENT." It is
commonly supposed that Yahveh, or, as commonly called,
"Jehovah", or, as in the Authorized Version, "The LORD," of
the Old Testament was God the FATHER of Jesus Christ. This
is a flagrant error! Yahveh was the God of Israel, the
peared - an actual foretaste, a view ahead into the
soon-coming Kingdom of God! As the disciples stood, gazing
with awe and wonder at the brilliance of the vision, there
came a "..... voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my
beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye Him" (Matt.
17:5). But notice, did the scripture say it was God the
Father who spoke? No! Read it in your own Bible!
Many have
carelessly assumed the Bible says what it does not say!
Notice this particular case, where a voice is heard
speaking, and yet Christ Himself tells us it COULD NOT HAVE
BEEN THE VOICE OF GOD! (John 5:37.) The only logical
conclusion in the light of all Scripture is that an angel
(messenger) spoke, as one bearing this message from the
Father in heaven!
Since it
was not God the Father who spoke to Moses, and who even
allowed Moses to see His hind parts (Ex. 33:23), then it had
to be the Eternal Being who was instrumental in executing
God's Word! That was Christ's prior OFFICE, that was His
all-important job! Who was the One who SPOKE to Moses? Why
the Spokesman, the Logos, of course!
Notice I
Cor. 10:4, " . . . And did all drink the same spiritual
drink: for they [the ancient Israelites] drank of that
spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was
Christ"!
That
certainly clinches it! The One who actually GAVE the laws to
the children of Israel from Mount Sinai was the One who
later became Jesus Christ! JESUS CHRIST WAS THE LORD OF THE
OLD TESTAMENT - THE GOD WHO DEALT PERSONALLY WITH ISRAEL,
WHO INSPIRED THE PROPHETS, WHO REVEALED HIMSELF TO THE
PHARAOH, TO NEBUCHADNEZZAR AND THE KINGS OF THE EARTH!
Most
people have assumed the God of the Old Testament was the
Father of Jesus Christ. This is proven by God's own inspired
Word to be a great error. As we read in I Cor. 10:4, the
"ROCK" of the Old Testament was Jesus Christ. Remember the
word "LORD)" is actually Yhvh, which means the Ever-Living
One, or the Life Self-Existent One. Now see II Sam. 22:2-3
(Revised Standard Version) : "He said, 'The LORD (Yhvh is.
my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my rock,
in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my
salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my savior; thou
savest me from violence.'"
In Psalm
18:1-2, this same ROCK is Yahveh, When Moses was talking to
Yahveh, and asked Him His name (Ex. 3:4, 5,13), He answered
that His name was "I AM" (verses 6, 14) and "Yahveh" - the
Eternal One (verse 15). See also Ex. 6:2, 3. In John 18:
5-8, as soon as Christ made Himself known to the crowd led
by Judas as "I AM" (the "he" in italics is added without
inspiration, and was not in the original), they went
backward and fell to the ground. Again in John 8:56-58,
Jesus called Himself: "I AM."
The
person of the Godhead who is our REDEEMER is Jesus Christ.
John 4:42 (RSV) contains this: "They said to the woman, 'It
is no longer because of your words that we believe, for we
have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed
the SAVIOR of the world.'" See Isaiah 60:16, where Yahveh is
called the Redeemer, which is the SAVIOUR, or the Holy One
of Israel!
Jesus,
the Savior, was the Holy 0ne born of Israel (Jacob). Jesus
is the Lord of the Old Testament.
What
to DO About It
What an
overwhelming truth it is, realize the glorious, the
awe-inspiring magnitude of Jesus' prehuman existence ! It
should make you realize more fully the tremendous PRICE that
was paid that you might have your guilty past blotted out,
and the slate wiped clean! GOD HIMSELF, in the person Jesus
Christ, paid that penalty!
Think of
it!
God the
Father sent His own Son down to this mundane sphere of sin
and fleshly emotions to suffer for humanity and thereby
provide a way of salvation a way to enter into life eternal!
The Life that was poured out on the cross was a human life
but it was much more than that - it was also very God LIFE!
Jesus was human, but He was also divine! Day and night,
while on this earth, Christ must have remembered the
tremendous power and glory from eternity He had enjoyed with
the Father - and realized it would have been possible to
sin, to relent in His battle against human nature, and
become eternally lost! The very willpower, the determination
and perseverance of Jesus Christ, together with the Divine
presence of the Holy Spirit of God, kept Him from falling,
that He could become the Savior of the world!
Can you
grasp it? Can you comprehend? Your very Creator - the One
who gives you every breath of air you breathe, DIED FOR you!
What are
you going to DO about it?
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